F 



THE OLD ROY ALL HOUSE 



V 

\ I 



^. 



BY 



HELEN TILDEN WILD 



[Reprinted from The Massachusetts Magazine (Vol. I, No. 3) and 

PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT.] 



Salem, Mass. 

The Salem Press Company 

1908 




ass. 



-Hf^ 



Sook^JAMJil. 



prksi:nti;|) uy 



\ 




< 

W 
w 

D 
O 

DC 

< 
O 

H 



THE OLD ROYALL HOUSE 



/ "^'-i.. 






BY 

HELEN TILDEN WILD 



[Reprinted from The Massachusetts Magazine (Vol. I, No. '.\) and 

PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT.] 



Salem, Mass. 

The Salem Press Company 

1908 






Gift. 
PublisloQr 



THE OLD ROY ALL HOUSE. 



By Helen Tilden Wild. 



Nine years ago, the Sarah Bradlee Fulton Chapter, Daughters of the Ameri- 
can Revolution, of Medford, Massachusetts, conceived the idea of preserving 
the old Royall House for the sake of its history and aesthetic worth. 

For years the members of the chapter had been familiar with the outside 
of the building, but few had seen the interior. After holding a loan exhibition 
in the house and being in it more or less for a month in early spring, the charm 
of the place took possession of them and they resolved to influence public opin- 
ion to save it. 

Two years later, in April, 1901, the chapter rented the house and opened it 
for the benefit and pleasure of the public. Becoming convinced that a larger 
organization with more far-reaching acquaintance was necessary, the chapter 
interested a group of patriotic men and women to form a corporation to pur- 
chase the building. As a result, the Royall House Association was incorpor- 
ated in 1905. In April, 1907, an option upon the mansion, outbuildings and 
about three-quarters of an acre of land was obtained, and the Association began 
raising money for the purchase. Little by little the fund grew until, April 16, 
1908, the one hundred thirty-third anniversary of the day when Colonel Isaac 
Royall left his beautiful residence never to return, the deed was obtained. 

It is now proposed to open the house as a museum for ancient furniture, 
household utensils, relics, etc., all arranged to enhance the beauty of its archi- 
tecture and to preserve its dignity. As time goes on, the house and slave 
quarters will be improved and the grounds laid out in the quaint old fashioned 
way. No mortgage encumbers the property, and it is fortunate that the build- 



2 THE OLD ROYALL HOUSE 

ings are in such a state that all the changes contemplated need not be made at 
once. The annual income from membership fees in the association and con- 
tributions to the fund by visitors and others will determine the yearly improve- 
ment. 

The mansion stands on Main Street, Medford, about midway between Win- 
ter Hill and Medford Square. It is the only building standing on land known 
as Ten Hills Farm, granted to Governor Winthrop in 1631, which dates back 
to the time when the holding retained its original boundaries. As early as 
1637, the homestead lot was walled and cleared although on a map of that date 
no house is shown there. Very soon after, tenants and employees of Governor 
Winthrop were located at Ten Hills, but the places of their abodes are un- 
known. Probably part of the Royall House was one of them, the original 
building having been much plainer and smaller than it is at present. The 
heirs of Gov. John Winthrop, of Connecticut (who became the owner of the 
property between 1641 and 1645) sold it to Mrs. Elizabeth Lidgett who sub- 
sequently made it over to her son Charles. 

The latter was an adherent of Andros, and when the unpopluar governor 
was forced to leave the province. Colonel Lidgett was ordered to go with him. 
Because he had not carried out the terms of his mother's will, Lidgett became 
entangled in lawsuits brought by his brother-in-law, John Usher, and David 
Jeffries, the husband of Usher's daughter. Being unable to return to Massa- 
chusetts to conduct his affairs personally, the cases went by default; Jeffries 
took possession of the southerly part of the farm and Usher of the portion north 
of Winter Hill. Until 1754, the whole of the farm was in Charlestown; the 
present boundary between Medford and Somerville practically marks the line 
between the two estates as divided in 1692. In the correspondence of Lidgett 
and his agent we first find reference to the so-called Royall House. It was oc- 
cupied at that time by Thomas Marrable, or Marble, who in 1690 had been a 
tenant there for several years. 

The house was then a two story and a half one with dormer windows in the 
attics. There were two rooms on each floor and the dimensions, over all, were 
eighteen by forty-five feet. The west, north and south walls were of brick. 
After Usher came into possession, he enlarged it by building a leanto on the 



THE OLD ROYALL^HOUSE 3 

west side, leaving the original brick wall to form the partition between the east 
and west rooms. A careful inspection of the brick work on the south wall of 
the building shows the outline of the original gable end. A little window which 
was in the leanto is different in finish from two others above, but not in line with 
it, and directs the attention to the second period in the evolution of the man- 
sion. Usher made the estate his home until his death, in 1726, except when 
he was serving as lieutenant governor of New Hampshire and had his head- 
quarters at Portsmouth. He, as well as Lidgett, was a follower of Andros; 
much personal animosity on the part of his neighbors was a consequence. In 
his young manhood he was very wealthy, having succeeded his father who made 
a fortune as a book-seller. To him were entrusted negotiations for the pur- 
chase of Maine by the province of Massachusetts from the heirs of Gorges. His 
success in this venture made him very popular until the advent of Andros. He 
married first the daughter of Mr. Peter Lidgett, a wealthy Boston merchant, 
and second, the daughter of George Allen, who bought the New Hampshire 
grants from the heirs of Mason. Allen was made governor of his province with 
Usher as his lieutenant. 

Usher's home on the Mystic was a favorite tarrying place for the tories of 
the seventeenth century. The last of the governor's life was harrassed by busi- 
ness troubles and many lawsuits, most of which he lost. Some seem to have 
been brought about by his arrogant temper, but, whatever the rights of the 
case, the people had little liking for his principles and the juries may have been 
prejudiced. Just before his death he put his farm at Ten Hills out of his hands, 
but it was returned to his widow soon after he died. 

Nine years later, in 1732, the estate was sold to Isaac Royall and since then 
it has borne his name. He immediately set about remodeling it. The house 
was made three story throughout; gardens were laid out; the slave quarters 
and summer house were built; a high wall enclosed the grounds on the high- 
way, broken by a low wall and fence directly in front of the house. An elm 
shaded driveway led from the road to a paved court-yard on the west side of 
the house, and flower-bordered walks were made from the mansion to the sum- 
mer-house on the west, and to the road on the east. The north side of the 
house was clapboarded and the garden front was paneled and embellished with 



4 THE OLD ROYALL HOUSE 

hand carving. The street front does not seem to have been greatl}^ changed 
from the facade built by Usher. 

The interior was almost entirely rebuilt. On the garden side is the "best 
room," with paneled walls, carved pilasters and recessed windows. The slid- 
ing doors between this room and the east parlor were put in many years later, 
probably about 1845. The east parlor and the dining room, on the other side 
of the hall, are much plainer, some of the woodwork having been removed. 
The hall extends through the house and is finished with a high wainscot. The 
stairway is paneled and the bannisters are carved in three patterns; the newel 
post combines all three and is extremely graceful. At the foot of the stairs is 
an arch with carved ornaments. The original wainscot is seen in the kitchen, 
but the great fireplace has been bricked up. To restore this room is one of the 
cherished desires of the present owners. 

Upstairs, over the west parlor is the "marble chamber," so called on ac- 
count of the carving representing Corinthian columns. In its prime, this room 
was beautifully furnished; its walls were hung with embossed leather and it 
was furnished with a crimson silk damask bed with counterpane, and easy 
chair and cushion to match, three walnut chairs, a Turkey carpet, one pair 
brass arms, a "blew" hair trunk and a sconse. The whole, with the bedfurnish- 
ings, was valued, in 1739, at three hundred pounds. All the chambers had 
tiled fireplaces and were designated, according to the color of the tiles, the 
blue room, the green room, etc. 

In the third story are two paneled rooms and two roughly plastered ones 
with beams across the ceiling; the larger one was called the spinning garret. 
This room seems to be unchanged, except the loss of the tiles; the twenty-four 
paned windows, wide floor boards, H and L hinges and heavy beams make 
these rooms seem older than any other part of the house. Over all, the great 
open attic could well be supposed to be the home of the spooks which the fas- 
tidious General Lee conjured up when he named the mansion "Hobgoblin Hall." 

Isaac Roy all lived seven years after he bought the estate, but the altera- 
tions were so elaborate that five years were consumed in rebuilding, and he 
lived in the house only two years. At his death the place came into the pos- 
session of his son, Isaac. 



THE OLD ROYALL HOUSE 5 

The Royialls were descendants of William Roy all, cooper and cleaver of 
timber, who came to Salem under the patronage of Governor Cradock. Isaac, 
Senior, became a planter in Antigua, one of the Leeward Islands, and en- 
larged his business by trading. His summer home was in Dorchester, and it 
is a tradition there that the importation of slaves contributed to his wealth. 
After he came to Ten Hills, he gave up this business and brought to his new 
home only tried and faithful family servants. About twenty-five came with 
him and were presumably, except the body servants, housed in the building 
known as the slave quarters. The brick part of this building was called the 
"out kitchen;" the basement was used as a dairy after 1800 and was probably 
built for that purpose. 

The summer house, at the end of the garden, was octagonal with carved 
pilasters, bell shaped roof and cupola surmounted by a winged Mercury, which 
swung as a weather vane. The figure was a fine piece of carving nearly five 
feet high. The building stood on an artificial mound, within which was a 
walled cellar entered by a trap door, which added great mystery to the struc- 
ture. They used to tell us that the dark hole was a prison for slaves, but the 
use of it for storage purposes was much more practical, though less romantic. 
The arched windows of the garden house made it a pleasant place in all weath- 
ers except the most severe, and the tender sentiments scratched upon them 
suggest tales of love. But during the siege of Boston lovers were displaced by 
stern soldiers who held councils of war there. 

For nearly forty years the home of Royall was a rallying place of social life- 
The house stood on the highroad from Boston to Salem and no one of import- 
ance was expected to pass by without alighting. Colonel Royall 's sister, 
Penelope, married Henry Vassall ; his niece, Elizabeth Oliver, was the wife of 
John Vassall, who built the Longfellow house in Cambridge. His daughters 
married Sir William (Sparhawk) Pepperell and George Erving. All were 
staunch loyalists, and Royall 's close connection with these families had much 
to do with his subsequent unforttinate history; but his benevolence and public 
services before the Revokition can now be viewed unobstructed by the war 
clouds of his day. 

From 1743 to 1752, Royall served as deputy to the General Court and 



6 THE OLD ROYALL HOUSE 

regularly returned his salary to the treasury of the town of Charlestown. He 
presented to the colony the chandelier which adorned the legislative chamber. 
For sixteen years he was chairman of the Board of Selectmen in Charlestown, 
and when his estate was set off to Medford, he served there in the same offices. 
He was moderator of town meeting when resolutions against the stamp act 
were passed and used his influence toward the repeal of the law. From 1752 
to 1774, he was a member of the Governor's Council. With Hancock, Otis, 
Bowdoin and Lady Temple, he was owner of a large tract of land in Worcester 
County, which was later called Royalston in his honor. He subscribed twenty- 
five pounds toward building a meeting-house there and presented the pulpit 
Bible. He gave generously for the benefit of church and schools in Charles- 
town and Medford, and when Harvard Hall was burned, in 1764, and with it 
the entire college library, he contributed a large sum to make good the loss. 
He bequeathed a large tract of land to Harvard College. The property was 
sold, according to the provisions of the will, and, in 1815, the proceeds were 
used to establish the Royall Professorship of Law, which was followed two 
years later by the Harvard Law School. 

When the troubles of 1775 were at hand, Colonel Royall and his sister, 
Penelope Vassall thought it best to retire to their West Indian estates until the 
storm had blown over. They accordingly made plans to that effect, but were 
deterred by the sudden blow struck at Lexington. The Sunday before the 
battle, Royall rode to Boston in his chariot, to attend service at King's Chapel 
and to bid his friends goodby. He unfortunately staid too long and was caught 
a prisoner in the town when the order of General Gage forbade any one to leave. 
His desire to quit the province could only be carried out by boarding an Eng- 
lish ship for Halifax. Taking lodgings at Windsor, Nova Scotia, he waited in 
vain for a vessel bound for Antigua; finally, when his daughter, Mrs. Erving, 
and her husband arrived after the evacuation of Boston, they persuaded him 
to go with them to England. On account of failing health, he never left Ken- 
sington where he made his home, dying there in 1781. His sister, being a non- 
combatant, was allowed to go south, taking any of her personal belongings ex- 
cept her medicine chest, which was reserved for the use of the surgeons in the 
Continental Army. 



THE OLD ROYALL HOUSE 7 

In Medford, the members of the first Committee of Safety were friends of 
Colonel Royall and probably he would never have been disturbed if he had re- 
mained at home. His estate, "one of the Grandest in North America," was 
left unprotected, but Dr. Simon Tufts, of Medford, exerted himself to care for 
it. General Stark, the commander of the New Hampshire troops, was detailed 
to occupy it as headquarters. Lee and Sullivan, whose commands were at 
Winter Hill, were there for a short time, but were ordered by Washington to 
make their headquarters nearer their brigades. For a short time "Mollie" 
Stark presided as mistress of the house. On the day of the evacuation of Bos- 
ton, she watched from a little outlook built against the south chimney to dis- 
cover any movement of the enemy toward crossing the river and proceeding 
around Boston to attack the Americans in the rear. Her orders were to send 
messengers to alarm the country if she saw anything to arouse suspicion. The 
short flight of stairs by which she climbed to the roof are to be seen today, but 
the little watch tower disappeared years ago. 

In less than a week after the evacuation, Stark was in New York and the 
Royall House was empty. As the war progressed, laws were made in regard 
to the property of absentees which scattered Colonel Royall 's household goods 
beyond hope of recovery. Two auctions were held for the benefit of the govern- 
ment. A set of candlesticks, owned and valued in a Boston family, are the 
only authentic relics known of the furnishings of his home. The real estate 
was confiscated but not sold, being occupied by wealthy tenants, who were able 
to take care of the estate, until 1792, when the government surrendered the 
title to Elizabeth Hutton a daughter of Elizabeth (Royall) Pepperell. 

In 1804, a syndicate began negotiations for the property, but all formali- 
ties were not completed till two years later Some of the outlying portions were 
sold, a few houses were built and streets laid out. William Welch, a Boston 
manufacturer, owned the homestead for about four years previous to 1810, 
when he sold to Francis Cabot Lowell, the founder of cotton manufacturing in 
America. In the summer of the same year, he sold the house and garden and 
about two acres on either side to Jacob Tidd, who eventually acquired the 
greater part of the Royall real estate. He occupied the place as a summer resi- 
dence and made a specialty of fruit and flower culture. After his death, Mrs. 



8 THE OLD ROYALL HOUSE 

Tidd made the farm her permanent home and resided there for fifty years. 
She was a sister of WilHam Dawes, who rode from Boston to Concord "on the 
eighteenth of April, seventy-five," to spread the news of the coming of the 
British. 

Mrs. Tidd enlarged' her mansion by building the north wing for the accom- 
modation of her youngest daughter when she married in 1823. The outside 
shows that it was built for utility rather than beauty, but the inside is more 
in keeping with the rest of the house and is hardly more modern. With the 
death of Mrs. Tidd, the glory of the estate departed, but even today, great 
trees, children of those planted by the Royall's shade the roof; vines clamber 
over the weather stained walls ; the peonies bloom in the flower borders, and 
even in decay the old house is beautiful. It is a monument to its former pro- 
prietors and the times they represent. Few houses can boast such a succession 
of eminent owners and few have stood for nearly two centuries with so few 
changes in architecture. It is bequeathed to the people of Massachusetts by 
those who had a part in the making of the Commonwealth, and to the men and 
women of today is given the duty and privilege of preserving it for future 
generations. 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Ml 



014 079 297 4 • 





